Lecture 1: Synchronous Use of Technology As you saw in the previous topic, there are classroom uses of technology that are categorized as synchronous, asynchronous and blended. Let’s take a little closer look at these categories and examples of those, beginning with synchronous use of technology.

This is probably the most familiar category to us as teachers; we stand in front of the classes and explain things, lecture, engage with the students, and the dozens of other examples that immediately come to mind. See me below, walking around in a class?

That’s synchronous. The students and I were there together. Face-to-face (F2F) is the term often found in the literature to explain synchronous teaching and learning. So, with that very brief background on synchronous teaching and learning, you can probably immediately identify some examples of the use of technology (tech integration) in such settings.

What technologies do you see in this picture of synchronous use of technology? Can you name the hardware tools AND perhaps some options for the software involved?

How’s about this synchronous technology?

And what about these below?

(**The key is at the end of the lecture!) And now can you think of technologies you each use or are used in your subject matter or grade level in synchronous settings? And these technologies may not be cutting edge….but they are STILL technologies! So look for them also as examples!

Does Synchronous Use of Technology Enhance Teaching and Learning? Without reviewing any research studies, many of you reading this lecture would probably say that, properly used, technology can enhance a synchronous learning experience. You might be thinking of how powerful it is in science for the students to see a video of lunar research vehicles or how amazing the engagement is with students in math when you use a Smartboard. Still others may be remembering using an audio tape or CD as a way to have students listen to an author reading his/her story and then talking about it. You guys can immediately think of examples and, most likely, give testimonials to the enrichment power of technology in the hands of a masterful teacher. Our personal beliefs aside, the use of technology in synchronous teaching (traditional, teacher-led classrooms) has been widely studied. I will include some of those studies in the readings for this topic. Check them out; read them as you would read a newspaper – looking for big ideas, outcomes & results, and what they did or didn’t do with the technology as well as WHAT technology was studied. CONCLUDING REMARKS: Technology integration usually begins within the traditional, teacher-led classroom; teachers and students begin to use technologies that become available. Remember the article you read previously about SCOT – where teachers use technologies in ways not imagined by the technology creators and vendors? TV, radio, audio tapes, video tapes --- none of these technologies were invented FOR teachers. They were invented for wide use in society. Think about the microcomputer. It was not originally intended for schools – some would say that, in fact, microcomputers in schools was an afterthought! Take a look at this timeline sometime when you have a moment to skim to the years: http://pcmuseum.tripod.com/comphis3.html You see in its history, even Apple was not originally intended to be in schools. These were business tools. But teachers, as they ALWAYS do, found ways to use these. Math teachers began to use spreadsheets and databases. Later English teachers began to let students use word processers. Tiny starts that opened the doors to computer marching into the classroom. In all of these early cases, the teacher was still integral to the use of the technology. Most of it took place in the classroom. Students used the technology there at school, and they watched teachers use it. That was all synchronous. Later we will take up more recent applications of synchronous technologies. Move on to Lecture on Asynchronous. **KEY to = How’s about this synchronous technology?

These are classroom response clickers; you can find information on how teachers are using them by going to the Diigo.com (http://www.diigo.com/user/emTech) and using the tags “synchronous” and “classroom clickers”.

And what about these below?

No. 2 is using SKYPE to connect a classroom to a guest speaker. Teachers can record those ‘guest speakers’ who come in on SKYPE, either as video or as audio. Then they have the ‘guest speaker’ video or podcast for review and future use, though some teachers just invite the guests each year for a ‘live’ SKYPE! Go to the Diigo account (http://www.diigo.com/user/emTech) and use the tag “SKYPE” to find some examples of how teachers are using this tool synchronously. No. 3 shows teachers with students in a lab. In these cases, the teachers take their students to a computer lab where they use various types of software, depending on what subject and grade level it is. There may not be as much of this as there once was as more and more technology becomes personalize and available to individual students, both inside and outside of school. No. 4 shows students engaged synchronously through multiple projection systems through which students’ work and that of the teacher can be projected. This was an earlier version of what became the SmartBoard.

No. 5, SmartBoards, have come on the scene in classrooms to the rave reviews of most teachers. This is a natural companion for teacher-directed instruction, but it can also travel with the teacher into more student-centered teaching and learning. There are links on the Diigo account (http://www.diigo.com/user/emTech) with the tags “smartboard” and “interactive board”. There is also at least one article that predicts the replacement for this technology.